Friday, February 12, 2016

If upcoming study results are positive, people with multiple
sclerosis may have a marijuana gum available for treatment of symptoms
by 2017. The gum is made by AXIM Biotechnology, Inc. and is called
MedChew Rx.

The marijuana gum has been tested for treatment of pain andspasticity
in multiple sclerosis, and the company expects the Food and Drug
Administration and the European Medicines Agency to approve the product
for this use. MedChew Rx contains 5 mg of cannabidiol (CBD) and 5 mg of
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and will be available by prescription.
Cannabidiol is one of more than 100 cannabinoid chemicals found in
marijuana plants. It does not make people high and has been shown to
possess multiple health benefits, including an ability to treat seizures
and other neurological conditions. THC, another type of cannabinoid,
has psychoactive properties as well as medicinal abilities.

How marijuana gum works
According to Dr. George E. Anastassoy, MD, DDS, MBA, chief executive
officer of AXIM Biotechnology, the marijuana gum is unique because of
its “precise, controlled release mechanism to the oral mucosal capillary
circulation,” which means it bypasses the liver. Obtaining the
marijuana components via chewing also is safer, associated with fewer
side effects, and more socially acceptable than traditional methods,
such as smoking or oral consumption, according to Professor John
Zajicek, an expert on medical cannabis and the individual responsible
for conducting AXIM’s clinical trials on pain and spasticity in multiple
sclerosis.
Zajicek noted in a company statement that “Chewing gum is a
potentially good route as it would avoid respiratory irritations” that
some people experience when smoking and that “it will deliver a
prolonged dose without peaking too much.”
The gum also provides “neuroprotective and neurostimulatory benefits”
derived from chewing, an activity which itself has a therapeutic
impact. In fact, research has shown that chewing (mastication) promotes
generation of neurons (neurogenesis), stimulates the cardiovascular
system, and enhances oral health, as well as helps with stress reduction
and loss of cognition associated with aging.
By: Deborah Mitchell